Well, speculation is a 9/8/2014 release date, based on the E3 2014 trailer saying "COMING 1984". Though obviously that might just be a cheeky joke based on the year that TPP takes place in.

Anyway, I've been playing a lot of Ground Zeroes (I didn't expect to!) so I think I should do it some justice and write a semi-review for it...

So, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3). This is a fantastic game, to be honest. It's the most fun Metal Gear has ever been to play, in my opinion, since it's a fantastic blend of old-school MGS elements combined with some more modern gameplay elements. Big Boss is a beast to play as this time around and many actions such as dragging bodies feel so much more fast this time around that I actually found myself doing it a lot, unlike in previous games in which I didn't bother much. Similarly, nearly useless things like binoculars and directional microphones are now much more useful. Particularly, binoculars now include a directional mic and they allow you to mark enemies, which allows you to see them through walls (there's an icon over their head but you can also see their outline while you're stationary). Other actions like the new dive are fantastic. You can drive vehicles, turn off the power, lure guards with magazines, etc, etc. There's a lot of options for stealth and combat.

The graphics are also fantastic. While the PS3 version is not as great as its PS4 cousin, it still looks beautiful. I am actually amazed at how great the game looks, particularly due to some great dramatic lighting. The weather effects shown in Ground Zeroes fantastic, especially the rain shown during the main mission (called Ground Zeroes, yes). All of the ops are set in the same area sadly but I think this gave them a great chance to show just how much a single area can vary due to weather and time of the day. Weather and time will definitely affect how players take on operations in The Phantom Pain, since it varies a lot.

All that said, Ground Zeroes just doesn't have much content. While I do admit I've played a lot (around 10 hours already!?), this is mostly because I find the fantastic gameplay to be a lot of fun to mess with so it's the first time I find myself actually bothering trying to get S Ranks in the missions. But there really isn't much content if you plan to just do them once. There's the main Ground Zeroes mission, which offers a few story tidbits to set the events of The Phantom Pain in motion. Despite not having much story content, there are still some great moments.

Other than Ground Zeroes, there's about 5 side ops and 2 extra ops (the Deja Vu and Jamais Vu missions). All of these side and extra ops take place in the same area as Ground Zeroes, Camp Omega. They have a lot differences in enemy placement and they show off different weather and time effects, but it's still the same layout. This also means that these side ops are most likely not canon or partially canon at most (as in, the missions might be real but were not set in Camp Omega), with the obvious exception of Deja Vu and Jamais Vu which are non-canon silly missions referencing MGS1 (Deja Vu) and Metal Gear Rising (Jamais Vu). It ultimately feels like just a demo for The Phantom Pain, which is what I was expecting.

There's some unlockables, but it's mostly stuff for the companion app for Android and iOS (which has a Mother Base simulation, it's pretty decent) and some music you can listen to or set for the helicopter to play when it's called. Apparently GZ saves will carry over into The Phantom Pain, but we don't know what will carry over, so it kind of makes trying for higher ranks and trials to feel slightly pointless at times...

I didn't expect to write a long review like I did, but whatever. My verdict is 8.5/10 and my hype for MGSV: TPP is now at dangerous levels.

TL;DR: Gameplay is excellent. Story content is good. Graphics are great. But not enough actual content makes it feel like a demo for The Phantom Pain. 8.5/10

Great review. Pretty much my exact thoughts on this game!

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

The last game I finished was Sleeping Dogs. It is a great game. I'd rate it 8/10.

The game has a great story. The fighting mechanism is great and the open world has a lot of life. The only issues I had with the game were the bad driving handling and the DLCs which were too short and not so interesting. If you haven't played it yet, I suggest waiting for the Definitive Edition if you don't mind waiting. The Definitive Edition will feature all the DLCs and will have improved graphics.

I don't even remember the last game I played really. I'll list what I can remember though:
Minecraft - 9/10 (I've never finished it but whatever). Especially with the new update coming out you can do pretty much anything. Two things to remember, the community generally sucks and the rendering engine isn't optimized

Garry's Mod - 9/10. This game lets you do pretty much anything as long as you're willing to put a bit of time into it. I absolutely love sandbox type games.

I haven't been playing much lately. The last game I played was The Walking Dead Episode 4. It was the slowest episode, but still a solid one. I hope that the final episode is better than this one in terms of action. Anyways, I am going to give it an eight.

Its been a long time but i put God of War Ascention on yesterday, and after nearly a year of concentrating on next gen games, putting God of War back in reminded me just how much well rounded and polished the old gen games were compared to next.

So much detail and effort has been put into the SP part of GOW it was genuinly a joy to play it again, even though Ascention is not my favourite god of war. I put the game on hard and played straight through for hours not really wanting to stop

However.

I tried the GOW multiplayer! What a MESS that is. Your character is so small on the screen it's impossible to tell what, or even if your hitting ot doing anything when in a melee with other users. And to top it off it really felt like the game is unbalanced to new people playing to those who have been for a while.

I went 4 entire matches not even getting one solitary kill! One round of 4 free for all, the top player got 17 - 0 and the rest of us were all 0 for somethings...

So because i went 4 rounds without even getting a kill ( and still finished top of my team one round ) it didn't feel welcoming to players so i promptly left

For me the best multiplayer games are the ones where if you haven't got lightning reactions you can still find a way to be effective. With this hack and slash game it's all about reaction... nothing else.

SO i had a round of GRFS MP and although i've not picked it up for about 6 months, first game i still managed to finish second with 6 -10 score because i could find a way to still be of use.

Wow. Over two months since the last post. Anyway... *blows dust off thread*

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD - 7/10

Sad to think I liked this more then Black Flag. But it's true. I had a good time with this. Started this early October and then got distracted with the PS4, finally came back to it tonight and finished the story. Didn't really follow the story too well, but the gameplay while not perfect was still fun. Quite a few bugs and glitches I'm afraid (one time, I was swimming on land. Yeah, it was darn funny) but didn't take away my enjoyment. Nothing will ever beat AC: Brotherhood though. Now I'm just playing free-roam, trying to finish all the side missions

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Wow. Over two months since the last post. Anyway... *blows dust off thread*

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD - 7/10

Sad to think I liked this more then Black Flag. But it's true. I had a good time with this. Started this early October and then got distracted with the PS4, finally came back to it tonight and finished the story. Didn't really follow the story too well, but the gameplay while not perfect was still fun. Quite a few bugs and glitches I'm afraid (one time, I was swimming on land. Yeah, it was darn funny) but didn't take away my enjoyment. Nothing will ever beat AC: Brotherhood though. Now I'm just playing free-roam, trying to finish all the side missions

one time in revepations i jumped over a gap in the caves and physics happened. i overjumped and landed on it but i went head first and hit the floor, while my feet stayed up and slowly went down

i know things look bleak,
but even the word hopeless has hope in it.
plus if you rearange the letters it says peeslosh.
that last part was probably unnecessary
~the battleblock theater narrator

I agree with you Haze.
Ezio's saga was the best of AC series in my opinion. The historical environment, the costumes and the characters were really fashinating. I expecially liked it because all the story takes place in my own country, during one of my favourite periods: the Renaissance. Great game, great conceipt.

Very good game. Emotionally draining, but very glad I played it. Took me a while to actually finish the game as I kept getting distracted by other games but glad I pushed myself to finish it (currently going through the PS3 backlog). Great performances. Most likely not something I'd ever play again as it wouldn't have the same feel a second time. I think Heavy Rain may still be better, but still a close second. One thing that kind of kills it for me is the "ending" and how it is "sequel-bait". I just wish games these days (and films too) would have real happy endings. Not endings that just set-up another instalment. But ah well. Must be getting old

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Very good game. Emotionally draining, but very glad I played it. Took me a while to actually finish the game as I kept getting distracted by other games but glad I pushed myself to finish it (currently going through the PS3 backlog). Great performances. Most likely not something I'd ever play again as it wouldn't have the same feel a second time. I think Heavy Rain may still be better, but still a close second. One thing that kind of kills it for me is the "ending" and how it is "sequel-bait". I just wish games these days (and films too) would have real happy endings. Not endings that just set-up another instalment. But ah well. Must be getting old

I agree Heavy Rain was much better, but still I enjoyed Beyond Two Souls, cant wait to see what David Cage has for us next!

I agree Heavy Rain was much better, but still I enjoyed Beyond Two Souls, cant wait to see what David Cage has for us next!

Same. Really hope it's a fresh new IP, and not a sequel.

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Played this before on the Xbox 360 when it was first released. But grabbed it when it was a freebie via PS Plus. Played it for about an hour and then quickly got distracted by other games. Came back to it just a couple days ago randomly and couldn't put it down... again. Fantastic game. Cannot wait for Far Cry 4. But giving myself a break before I play that as I don't want to overkill it Highly recommended.

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Dragon age inquisition. Haven't beaten it yet but it's a solid 10 in story and gameplay this far

I think you may of meant to post in the PS4 section again

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

It's all good. I might change the title to "Rate the last PS3 game you played"

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall.
But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."